If you are new to fantasy football this season or don't understand the jargon being used by bloggers or commenters, you may want to bookmark this for quick reference. Glossary of Common FFL Terms
ADP -- Average draft position. Many fantasy sites show a player's ADP, and this is a very helpful tool heading into a draft. It can't safeguard you against an owner jumping the gun, but if you really want to draft Devin Hester, for example, you can see that he's going as the 40th WR on average in most leagues. This will prevent you from taking him 20th and screwing yourself out of a few better picks.
Bounce-Back -- A player has been good or great before, but had an uncharacteristically bad season. The key to recognizing this is that a player hasn't become old or washed up. Edgerrin James, for example, is pretty much done after passing the RB Threshold last year. Marc Bulger is not done by any stretch. Think Jamal Lewis in '07.
Breakout -- A good example is Roy Williams' 2006 campaign. A player goes from a decent or good player to a great or elite player in one season, but it wasn't all that unpredictable based upon several different factors. Some guys to watch for on this one in '08 are Laurence Maroney and Brandon Jacobs.
Bust -- The main thing to remember here, just like with the term sleeper, is that it's relative. Tom Brady is a stud, but he can be a bust. A bust is a player that doesn't produce the stats he should from his drop spot. If you take Adrian Peterson first overall and he's outscored by LaDanian Tomlinson, for example, he's a bust for you.
D/ST -- Defense and Special Teams unit. Most fantasy leagues use a team defense, but give points for punt and kick return touchdowns, so you throw in the "/ST" with the "D." Got it?
Fleaflicker -- Stellar and free fantasy site that keeps live scoring, runs waiver systems, and schedules everything perfectly. Seriously, last year I paid $120 for a site -- and that was with the "early bird discount" -- and spent at least three hours putting together a schedule where every owner played each team in his division twice and everyone else once. In fleaflicker, I just assumed I'd have to do so again. Instead, I went into "edit schedule" and clicked on "play division foes twice." It set the schedule exactly how I wanted it. Man, that was awesome.
Flex -- Like a utility, DH, or extra player; this is simply an extra active player each week in your lineup. You have the option of choosing between several different positions. Some leagues only let you use RBs and WRs here, others will let you use anyone. Wanna play two kickers? Go ahead! (I wouldn't).
Handcuff -- Players in leagues with large enough benches like to take a player's backup as his insurance policy. For example, if you take the potential replacement on his real NFL team should he go down via injury. This is not a time-share situation. It's an actual backup. Jim Sorgi is Petyon Manning's handcuff. Felix Jones is Marion Barber's. Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew do not have handcuffs because they split time.
Hate -- This isn't anything personal with the guy. When we say we "hate" a guy, it means we aren't high on his prospects to be a productive fantasy player relative to his value entering the season. Brinson hates Reggie Bush and Tony Romo. That doesn't mean he's met them and has a personal problem with them. I do, however, actually hate Terrell Owens. I don't have to meet him to know.
IDP -- Individual defensive player. It's becoming more and more popular to play in leagues where you draft defensive players along with offensive players. The defenders accrue points for things like tackles, sacks, takeaways, TDs, etc.
Love -- Man-crush is often used. Don't take this literally. It's the opposite of "hate." This simply means that we love the prospects of a player to exceed expectations. I love JaMarcus Russell, for one example.
Pay -- When someone tells you not to pay for last year's numbers, it means that you'll have to draft someone too high or spend too much auction money on him. He's not talking about paying actual dollars in a fantasy league.
PPR -- Points per reception. Some leagues give points for receptions, and some don't. It makes a difference with guys like Brian Westbrook compared to those who never catch balls out of the backfield like Jamal Lewis.
Pundits -- Referencing other sites. I don't make a habit of reading stuff from other sites because I don't want others to shape my opinion. On the other hand, I will sneak a peak from time to time so I get an idea of what others are saying. This is where you'll see us say something like "pundits everywhere are overreacting about ... "
RB1 (for example) -- This is the top fantasy RB on your team. WR3 would be your third best receiver. So if I say Reggie Bush is a lower-tier RB2 in 12-team PPR leagues, you can decipher it by now, right?
RB Threshold -- Studies all over the place show that a running back's body generally starts to deteriorate -- and obviously his production does as well -- once his career carries get in the 2500 range. Edge James has 2849 by the way ... just so you know.
RBBC -- Running back by committee. Many teams use this now because the game has evolved that way. It puts less stress on the runners and the coaches are likely trying to avoid the RB Threshold at an early age. The perfect example is in Jacksonville, with Taylor and MJD.
RB/RB Theory --The theory that many pundits are proclaiming outdated, where you must draft a running back in both the first and second round. This is because running back is the most important fantasy position, and you likely can't win anything without at least one reliable back.
Sleeper -- Exact opposite of bust. Someone who is being undervalued in drafts. If you draft Thomas Jones in the 4th round and he bounces back to the top 15 RB group, he was a great sleeper pick.
Stud -- An elite fantasy player that you should never bench.
TD-Only -- Some leagues don't count yardage, receptions, or anything else. Just touchdowns.
Timeshare -- Similar to RBBC, but this could be any position. The Bears receiving corps is likely to be a time-share situation for at least the first quarter of the season. Timeshares are never good in fantasyland.
Vulture -- A goal-line touchdown guy, who doesn't do much else. Think Jerome Bettis in his last season. Willie Parker gets the Steelers up the field, and The Bus comes in at the goal-line to punch it through. These guys can be frustrating for owners of the non-vulture teammates, but quality options in TD-Only leagues. TJ Duckett is a good vulture heading into '08.
